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France’s domestic card scheme Cartes Bancaires (CB) is attempting to reassert itself at a moment when Europe’s dependence on US payment networks is attracting renewed political and commercial scrutiny.
Cartes Bancaires Battle for European Payments Sovereignty
For decades, CB has been a familiar but often understated part of France’s payments infrastructure. Created in the 1980s by the country’s leading banks, it was designed as a shared-cost domestic network, enabling card payments to be processed locally rather than entirely through international schemes.
Yet over recent years its position has weakened, with its share of domestic French payments falling from more than 90% to around 75%.
That decline now appears to have slowed. Under chief executive Philippe Laulanie, CB is seeking to rebuild momentum by promoting co-badging, where a single bank card can operate on both a domestic network and an international scheme such as Visa or Mastercard.
Co-Badging Returns to the Strategic Agenda
Co-badging was once a practical feature of the French card market. Today, it has become a political statement. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in transatlantic relations have all sharpened concern that critical financial infrastructure could be exposed to external pressure.
For French policymakers, CB is no longer merely a domestic payments utility. President Emmanuel Macron has described the network as part of France’s economic sovereignty, encouraging banks and payment providers to adopt a dual-network model.
The argument is straightforward: Europe should not rely exclusively on non-European providers for the basic functioning of commerce.
Commercial Logic Meets Political Pressure
CB’s renewed appeal is not based solely on sovereignty. Its fees are typically lower for local merchants, making it attractive to businesses such as restaurants and retailers.
Foreign banks with expanding French operations, including JPMorgan Chase, have joined the network, while CB says it has a pipeline of further potential participants.
However, the revival faces clear obstacles. Many European countries have already dismantled or neglected their domestic schemes, leaving them with few immediate alternatives to the global networks.
Fintechs and online banks also remain cautious. Companies such as Revolut, Qonto, Nickel and BoursoBank have favoured single-scheme models, usually because they are simpler to manage across multiple markets.
CB has also had to contend with criticism that it moved too slowly in mobile payments. Recent technical improvements have addressed some of those weaknesses, but the competitive benchmark has been set by highly scalable, digitally native payment providers.
A French Model With European Implications
The future of CB will matter well beyond France. Its progress will test whether domestic payment infrastructure can remain commercially relevant in an era dominated by global card schemes, digital wallets and pan-European initiatives such as Wero.
CB’s challenge is to prove that sovereignty, lower costs and innovation can sit together. If it succeeds, France may offer Europe a rare working example of how to preserve domestic control without retreating from global interoperability.
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